Green Feb 1, 2011 at 10:47 am

How to Easily Opt Out of Phone Books: Hooray Hooray!

Sarah Mirk
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Comments

1
Thank-you Sarah.I will do this immediately.There are 3 phone books on my front porch now that I never ordered that will need to be recycled.
pdxbuckeye on February 1, 2011 at 11:11 AM Report this
2
Thank you! This is awesome and useful and one-bajillion percent better than any Blogtown post related to Justin Bieber.
Joe Streckert on February 1, 2011 at 11:20 AM Report this
3
I've got to remember to mention it to my neighbors as well. There's enough smug for us all!
tk. on February 1, 2011 at 11:22 AM Report this
4
@JStreckert
You may also "opt out" of having to read any Justin Bieber posts by following the steps below.

1. Click the close button on your browser window.
2. If any offending Bieber memories remain in your brain at this point, simply knock them out with a ball peen hammer.
Wm. Steven Humphrey on February 1, 2011 at 12:42 PM Mercury Staff
5
Here's an idea for recycling those old phone books.

http://pinktentacle.com/2010/04/manga-farm…
Nileann on February 1, 2011 at 12:45 PM Report this
6
Created a filter to catch any email spam they send my way. Recommend others do the same. gmail makes this easy.
jaspeers on February 1, 2011 at 12:54 PM Report this
7
Inspired by the absolutely selfless actions of Yellow Pages, I'll be creating a web site that allows people to opt-out from receiving my flaming shit bags in exchange for some of their personal data...
jaspeers on February 1, 2011 at 12:56 PM Report this
8
@WSH: I know this is totally juvenile and has nothing to do with the above post, but I've always found the term "ball peen hammer" to sound sort of snicker-worthy.
Joe Streckert on February 1, 2011 at 1:12 PM Report this
9
I always just leave the unsolicited materials in the lobby of the largest advert I can find. This also works with those pesky Willamette Week bundles.
Rosy on February 1, 2011 at 1:39 PM Report this
10
I don't know. Phone books are kinda useful. What if the internet goes down and you need to find a business?
bikefor1 on February 1, 2011 at 11:17 PM Report this
11
This is actually a pretty bad idea, on many levels:

1. There's no guarantee that they will not resell this information, as the twatterer mentioned. Or secure it in a proper encrypted format. Or really not just fuck your shit up in any other numerous ways companies do with your data.

2. They now have much more marketable information than they had previously. Why does the phone directory company even get to do this when I haven't owned a landline in ~9 years? Fuck that shit on principle alone.

3. We shouldn't have to do this. It should be opt-in, always. In fact, what I do when I get these phone books is toss them into the middle of the mother-fucking street.

My advice is to civilly disobey the acceptance of these books until everyone is required to opt-in.
on February 2, 2011 at 5:00 AM Report this

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